Melanie Conroy Quoted in Bloomberg Law: Corporate Bar Hails Massachusetts Court’s Ruling of Wiretap Law

As we noted in this recent alert, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the use of web tracking software does not violate a 60-year-old state privacy law.

In rejecting a website user’s claim that two hospitals violated the Commonwealth’s Wiretap Act — originally intended to prohibit the interception of person-to-person conversations and messages using hidden electronic surveillance devices —the SJC could not conclude that the Act was intended to prohibit the recording of web browsing and similar interactions.

Had the plaintiff claimed that communications with doctors, nurses, or other medical professionals were intercepted, the court may have reached a different decision.

Pierce Atwood litigation and privacy attorney Melanie Conroy noted that while Massachusetts’ highest court was clear that a user’s navigation of a website doesn’t fall under interpersonal communications, that the “lack of clarity around the definition of communications [in other state wiretap statutes] leaves the onus on other state supreme courts to define it in their states.”

The entire article by Allie Reed and Tonya Riley can be found in the November 1, 2024 edition of Bloomberg Law.